Hockey was the ice hockey part of LEGO Sports in 2003 and 2004, made under licence from the NHL. Most of its players were not minifigures but larger figures built from Technic parts, each fixed to a base on the rink. Tapping a player on the head swings its stick, so shots, passes and saves are played by hand, and the sets included goalies, puck feeders and slap shot players to build a full game.
2004 LEGO Sets
2004 was a pivotal recovery year following financial losses in 2003. LEGO updated its color palette, introducing light nougat for licensed minifigures and brighter grays and browns. The company partnered with Ferrari under LEGO Racers and launched Knights’ Kingdom II, a story-driven reimagining of Castle. QUATRO expanded the preschool range, while World City, Orient Expedition, Spider-Man, and Gravity Games concluded. These shifts, along with strategic licensing, began LEGO’s long-term turnaround.